Optically motivated toy



OPTICALLY MOTIVATED TOY Filed Feb. 6, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY United States Patent 2,922,929 OPTlCALLY MoTivArED TOY 'gin'lius L. Cooper, New Hyde Park, William R. Feingold,

Frs h Meadow, and John A. Parmer'ton, Forest Hills,

Application February 6, 1957, Serial No. 635,930 3 Claims. or. 317124) This invention relates to a motor circuit which is caused to be reversed by the application at a remote location of an electromagnetic energy such as light.

The motor circuit is particularly designed for operating toy vehicles such as might be found in mobile shooting galleries in amusement parks, orv can be used in the parlor, and the like. The operation is remotely controlled by playing a light on a light-responsive element while concurrently disconnecting the other motor relay Subsequent activation of the lightis accordingly described more fully below in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a schematic diagram of the reversible motor circuit and its principal operating components;

is positioned and adapted to direct light, emanating from an external source, through a lens 9 and onto a light cell 10. 'A rotary switch 11 is supported within the vehicle and is connected by links 12 and 13 to pivotal vbumpers 14 and 15 respectively, which make and break thermotor circuit in a manner explained below.

Three brushes 16, 17 and 18 are supported in friction contact with the rotary switch drum 19, being adapted to engage contacts 20, 21 and 22 supported on the surbumpers 14 and 15 respectively.

As shown in Fig. 1, the brushes and contacts are in engagem t, but it is apparent that such engagement en maybe broken by depressing either bumper so as to 2,922,929 Patented Jan. 26, 1960 negative buss.

A second branch comprises in series a lead 38 connected to the positive buss, a pair of normally open conneutral connection 63 is made between the lead 56 to a point between the batteries 27 and 28.

One of the driving relays, for example, right hand driving relay 55, is assumed to be faster acting than the other driving relay, which 13 required for operation as and is connectable to the second branch by means of lead 67, normally closed contacts 68 and 70 and lead 73 to lead 54 in the third branch. 7.

Germanium diode 76 poled away from the third branch,

as follows: Series batteries 80 and 81 are connected on one side to the drum contact 20 of the rotary switch by lead 79. Output lines 82 and 83 are connected to the other side of the batteries and brush 16, respectively.

contacts of the relay 57.

The motor circuit comprises a pair of branches connected between the power output lines 82 and 83 with the motor connected between the branches.

The firstflbranch of the motor circuit comprises in series lead 34 from buss 83, connecting the normally open contacts 52 and 93 and the normally closed contacts 52 and 94 to the line 82 through lead 97. The

the motor circuit by means of motor leads 100'and 101 which are connected to'relay contact 61 on relay 55 and contact 52 on relay 57.

The sequencing and motor circuits operate asfollows: With switch 11 open and no light falling on light cell 10, the relays 34, 55 and 57 are deenergized and their contacts in a normally closed position. Closing the switch energizes the positive and negative busses and connects the relays 55 and 57 to the neutral lead and the positive and negative busses, respectively. However, if we assume relay 55 to be the faster acting relay, it will disconnect relay 57 from the negative buss before that relay has been energized. The vehicle then moves to the right due to the passage of current from the normally closed contacts of relay 57 through the motor and the now closed contacts ofrelay 55. The capacitor 65 instantly takes ona negative charge as a result of its connection with the negative buss through the 'normally closed contacts of relay 34 and the operatively closed contacts of relay 55.

When light impinges on light cell 10, relay 34 is energized because it is conductively connected to both busses. This removes the capacitor from the negative buss and allows it to discharge through relay 57, the diode 76 and the operatively closed contacts of relay 34. This momentary surge of current through relay 57 keeps. it energized long enough to open its normally closed contacts and thereby deenergize relay 55. When the'contacts of relay 55 assume their normally closed position, relay .57 is held in it's energized state, because it is then connected to the neutral connection and the negative buss.

With relay 57 energized, the'vehicle moves to the left due to the passage of current in the other direction in the motor through the normally closed contacts of relay 55 and the operatively closed contacts of relay 57.

Since the flash of light on light cell 10 was momentary, relay 34 becomes deenergizedand connects the capacitor to the positive buss, through its normally closed contacts, the resistor 43', and the operatively closed The capacitor then becomes positively charged and will discharge through relay 55 on excitation by the light cell, thereby causing the vehicle to reverse again.

It is tobe understood that various modifications and substitutions can be made in the foreging fully described illustrative embodiment of the invention whereby other circuit arrangements adapted to receive a succession of light'llashes for alternately reversing, their load polarity may be effected by one skilled in the art, without departrug from the principle and scope-of the invention as defined in the appended claims which are intended also to cover equivalents of the illustrative embodiment of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A circuit having reversible-load polarity, comprising a'voltage source and three coil relays, one of said relays having single pole double throw contacts and the other two relays having double pole, double throw contacts, three branches selectively connected across said voltage source, the first branch including a light-responsive element and the coil of one of said relays, the second branchbeing a resistive branch and including the normally open contacts of said second and: third relays, and the third branch including said second and third relay coils and the normally closed contacts of said second and third relays, aneutral connection connected to said third branch between said relay coils and to said voltage source, a sequencing circuit connecting-said neutral connection to said second and third branches, said sequencing circuit including a capacitor and a pair of light controlled'con- -tact branches, one of said contact branchesbemgco'nnected to said second branch and having the normally closed contacts'of the relay controlled by said lightresponsive element and the other of said'pair of contact branches being connected to said third" branch between the coil of the second relay and thenormally closed contacts of said third relay'and having a diode poled away fromthe' third branch, and a second diode poled oppositely to said first-mentioned diodeand' connecting the'said other of the contact brancliesto the third branch between the normally closed contacts of said second relay and the third relay coil; whereby thepol'arity of a load circuit selectively connected to the contacts of the second and third relays .may' bereversibly sequenced.

2. A circuit having reversible load polarityas claimed in claim 1, wherein there is provided an 'output circuit comprising a second voltage source, and apair'of branch leads selectively connected across said second voltage source, the first of said branch leads includes the normally closed and open contacts ofthe" second relay, and

a lead connecting one of said normally open'contacts to one of said normally closed contacts .of the second relay, and the second of said branch l'eads'jncludes the normally closed and open contacts of the third relay and a lead connecting one of said normally open'oontacts'to one of said normally closed contacts of the'thirdrclay, whereby a reversibly driven device may be connected across said branch leads.

3. A circuit having reversible polarity, as" claimed in claim 2, wherein said light-responsive elementis alight cell of the photo-conductive type.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 7 1,935,698 Decker Nov; 21, 1933 2,310,084 Hooker et al.. Feb. 2, 1943 2,424,193 Rost et al. July .15, 1947 2,715,707 'Haskins Aug. 16, 1955 2,761,995 DuRocher Sept. 4, 1956 

